All, Last Wednesday we had our first  class of the semester: Bike Maintenance 101. We had one attendee, despite the bitter cold and snow, which was great. He seemed genuinely appreciative of the BC and our mission. We were able to use his bike as a tutorial of sorts for some of the basic repairs.
We had a new-to-the-university student come in on Thursday who has a strong bike interest and background. He expressed interest in volunteering and becoming more involved—always a welcomed response!
On Friday I grabbed 4 bikes from the warehouse and we will work those up this week. The cold and snow will keep things nice and quiet here, I’m sure.

The numbers:

Visitors: 5
Sales: $262
Bike (refurb): 1 for $200
Membership: 1 for $30
Misc: $31

Thanks!

Jacob Benjamin
Campus Bike Center Manager

The Resilience and Education teams met to discuss the Edu002 recommendation and potential next steps. The recording is found here and minutes are attached below.

The Energy iCAP team made the following recommendation on 2/11/21. The Energy005 Modeling for Energy Code Compliance recommendation is attached. 

The aim of this recommendation is to ensure compliance of current and recent projects with State of Illinois Energy Codes and Facilities Standards

1. F&S will identify a contractor—which may be a student group or include a student group—capable of creating 25 models of building whole energy use in campus buildings. F&S will contract to provide electronic files so they can be run on a common platform such as Trane700, Energyplus, eQuest, DOE-2 or BLAST. Preference will be given to contractors who make maximum use of student effort.
2. F&S will identify five buildings completed recently but prior to 2019 for which breakdown meter energy use data is available, and five campus buildings currently under construction. F&S may identify buildings for which the required requested model energy files are available, at a cost saving on the project.
3. The contractor – in collaboration with a student group -- will complete for each of the ten buildings
   
   1. a model file of the building which follows the Energy Code prescriptive requirements (baseline energy model) in use at the time of construction in order to determine an Energy Cost Budget, (10 files)
   2. a model file of the building as constructed (10 files), and
   3. a determination of the level of compliance with Energy Codes and Facilities Standards in terms of design and construction.
4. For the five already-completed buildings, the contractor will calibrate the as-constructed model to fit the measured energy consumption data, using historical weather data. The calibrated model (5 files) should replicate actual energy use for a minimum of one year within 5% on a monthly basis and within 20% on a daily basis.
5. If energy modeling files are available in project files on a common platform listed above, and may be distributed, then this may be considered one of the deliverables, and the work need not be redone, at a cost saving for the project.
6. The contractor will provide a final report that describes the level of compliance in the ten buildings with the State of Illinois Energy Code (in use at the time of design and construction, as applicable) and Facilities Standards. The energy model files will be made available publicly, and primarily to students and faculty in engineering and architecture for their study.

The Environmental Leadership Program (ELP) is a new initiative launched this spring by the Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment (iSEE). Targeted at undergraduate students, the Program will include pre-professional workshops, field trips, and networking opportunities. Developing an undergraduate leadership program was a key educational objective in the Illinois Climate Action Plan.

“iSEE’s previous efforts have increased the amount of sustainability and environmental content in the U of I curriculum as we partnered with academic units from across campus on a sustainability minor, environmental writing instruction, individual classes, and course development opportunities,” said Gillen Wood, the Institute’s Associate Director for Education & Outreach. “The ELP takes a slightly different approach: We are creating a ‘value-add’ — beyond coursework — for students interested in more practical experience on how to effectively advocate for the environment.”

iSEE is piloting two ELP workshops in Spring 2021: March 24 on environmental policy; and April 13 on corporate sustainability. Up to 25 students may register for each event, which are scheduled on campus non-instructional break days.

These workshops will allow students to develop their sustainability leadership and communication skills, to learn about relevant career paths in sustainability, and to establish valuable networking connections. Successful professionals in the environmental policy and corporate sustainability fields will lead the sessions.
More details will be forthcoming on the workshops, but registration is now open. Visit the Program page for more information and for links to register! >>>

Below is the data for campus waste generated from January 31-February 6, 2021. 

Landfill: 181,000 lbs

Cardboard: 4,530 lbs

Paper: 1,427 lbs

Bottles & Cans: 0 lbs

Food Organics: 11,000 lbs

The Energy iCAP Team had a meeting on Feb. 10th where student member, Brinn McDowell, shared a presentation on calculated energy savings from green lab protocols that could greatly contribute towards energy conservation efforts. Updates were give on the Building Envelope Pilot Project, which is anticipated to start in March with several Energy iCAP Team students participating. Among other topics of discussion were ways to enforce compliance with state energy standards, to cooperate with student leaders across the Engineering, Architecture, and Design disciplines, and to condition vacated spaces in a time of distance-learning and -working. The agenda, meeting minutes, and chat log are attached below!